BLUES FROM LAUREL CANYON

BLUES FROM LAUREL CANYON was prepared from the original master tapes. Part change of musical direction and part musical therapy, BLUES FROM LAUREL CANYON was recorded just after the breakup of the final incarnation of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, that alternative finishing school for a whole slew of '60s UK musical talent. While the album continues the British blues maven's explorations in the genre, there's a sense of arrival, discovery and consolidation in these tracks, particularly the spooky "Medicine Man," with its pre-echoes of "Black Magic Woman," and the stark "First Time Alone," recorded with spare organ and guitar accompaniment. Mick Taylor's last Mayall recording before leaving to join the Rolling Stones finds the young guitar wizard in fine lyrical form, while the tablas bubbling through the album closer "Fly Tomorrow" carry an indelible stamp of genuine late-'60s hippiedom. Though no-one would seek out a John Mayall album for the authentic vocals--he barely sounds American, let alone black--his choices of both musicians and musical settings are always impeccable, and LAUREL CANYON delivers the goods on both counts.